The coal-fired Rampal Power Plant's 2nd unit is set to begin commercial production of electricity in mid-October.
Anwarul Azim, deputy general manager of Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt.) Ltd, said they are working to keep the production running at the thermal power plant.
However, due to coal shortages and mechanical faults, the power generation of the plant is often halted.
“The production of the first unit was resumed on the night of September 18 after overcoming the latest mechanical fault. The second unit is also in the process of starting production. For this, there are enough coal reserves. Foreign ships are coming to Mongla port with imported coal every day,” he added.
Previously, officials had announced that the second unit of the power plant was expected to commence commercial production in September.
Rampal power plant has faced a total of 14 shutdowns within the past 11 months, with production being halted seven times during the initial nine months of commercial operation.
In 2010, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and India's NTPC for the implementation of the Rampal Power Plant Project.
According to the MoU, Rampal was supposed to begin production in 2018. However, the deadline was extended several times for various reasons, including the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 1,320MW coal-fired power plant was set up at a cost of approximately $2 billion and is located in Rampal, Bagerhat, Khulna division.
The Maitree Super Thermal Power Project was constructed under the Indian government's concessional financing scheme.
